FOOTBALL: Perkiomen School wins wild one over ANC

BRYN ATHYN — Perkiomen School put the ball in the end zone just about every way possible Saturday afternoon, and wound up needing most of those scores in a wild 48-32 win at fierce rival Academy of the New Church.

John Garrett scored three times on the ground while rushing for 203 yards; John Williams scored on a long pass from quarterback Isaiah Smith, an almost equally long fumble return, and a long run; and Smith scored on an interception return.

The Panthers (4-1) racked up 421 yards in all while coming from behind twice and winning their fourth game in a row. ANC (1-5) didn’t have a bad day itself with 358 total yards, but turned the ball over four times while dropping its fifth straight.

“All week long, me and John (Garrett) preached this was one of the biggest rivalries in the world,” said Williams, who recalled how he and fellow senior Garrett had lost to ANC as freshmen and escaped with an overtime win last year after blowing a big lead. “The line played good, we executed, and sometimes the ball bounced at the right place.”

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“The team never gave up,” added workhorse Garrett, who ran the ball 23 times. “We played hard from the first whistle to the last like coach Cal (Tom Calvario) says.”

ANC opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on a 20-yard run by Shane McCurdy, but the Panthers countered with a 14-play, 58-yard drive topped off by a one-yard run by Garrett. Then the hosts went right back on top on a seven-yard TD pass from Landon Elder (13-for-19 for 192 yards and three TDs) to Zahir Murray.

Perk School retaliated in one play when Smith hit Williams with a perfect pass down the left sideline for a 63-yard touchdown and a 14-14 tie as the Panther defense quickly forced the only punt by either team all day.

“We preached that it’s a long game,” said Williams. “We just had to bounce back, keep grinding, keep going hard.”

Then it again took the visitors just one play to score as Garrett cut back and forth and finally broke free for a 73-yard scoring run and Smith picked off a pass and had a clear path into the end zone from 38 yards out. Williams intercepted another pass late in the half and it was 28-14 in favor of Perk School at the break.

The Panthers returned the second half kickoff to just their own 18 yard line, but proceeded to run off an impressive drive that ate up over seven minutes. They did it by running the ball on 14 straight plays for a total of 82 yards, with Garrett finishing the march with a six-yard run for a 36-14 advantage.

“We saw it working in the beginning,” Garrett said about the running game that amassed 333 yards on 47 attempts. “So the coaches stuck with the game plan. We as running backs did our job. The linemen did their jobs. When that happens, we work as a team.”

The Lions weren’t finished on offense, either. But Perk School answered each ANC score with one of its own, including a 41-yard touchdown run and a 54-yard fumble return by Williams that put the lead back up to 22 points both times.

“For the first time in a while, we played all four quarters,” said Williams, who rushed for 77 yards on 10 carries. “Coach (Calvario) has preached all four quarters.”

“We have workhorses,” Calvario added. “Our offensive linemen opened up holes and that long pass was a knife in the back. When you look up at the scoreboard, it’s the two defensive touchdowns that were the difference in the game. ANC is a very good team. Their record is no indication of how good they are.”

The Panthers have looked better and better each week following an opening-night 23-0 loss at Tower Hill down in Delaware.

“I wish we could have that game back,” said Garrett. “The way we play now, I think our team has a lot of bonding and team confidence. The way our team is working now we look like a unit. And that’s what’s most impressive.”

“We just have to continue this,” Calvario added. “I told the kids to enjoy the game. They deserve it.”

NOTES

The Panthers played much of the game with senior linebacker Olivier Joseph on the bench with an injury. … “Other kids stepped up,” said Calvario. “We had to play a little different on defense.” ... With their usual kicker absent, the Panthers went for two points after every touchdown and were successful three of seven times, with Smith hitting Derek Fosbenner twice in the end zone and running for two points himself the other time. ... Perk School did not punt or turn the ball over and scored seven times while losing the ball on downs twice and running out of time at the end of each half.